It could have easily been the day of Lasith Embuleniya - who
understood how to float the ball in the air and allow it to earn enough dip,
but it was that man BJ Watling, who yet again, stood up under adversity. This
wicketkeeper is one of the most underrated customers in world cricket. He would
take catches for you and then would play the role of a doctor working at a
Cardiac Emergency with the bat in his hand.
We were showering all the praises for Brendan McCullum's 302
against India, at Wellington in 2014 and in 2015 it was Kane Williamson, who
hogged the limelight at the same venue in 2015. But this man Watling hardly
received the due credit for his supporting role in those Test matches.
Soft hands - a term Geoffrey Boycott used to emphasize more
when he was commentating during that India v England Test series in 1993. The
English batters were left at bay by Anil Kumble, Rajesh Chauhan and Venkatpaty
Raju. Neither their feet moved correctly nor did they negotiated the turning
balls with soft hands. The end result was a 3-0 whitewash.
But Watling countered the threat of Sri Lankan spin trio,
especially Embuldeniya via playing behind the line, pivoting on the back foot
and of course, with soft hands. The start was nervy, but as soon as he occupied
the crease, the mission of adapting to the conditions was achieved and then it
was up to maintaining the basics right.
The more the ball posed a threat like spitting Cobra,
Watling tamed them like a snake charmer. Soft hands played a huge role in his
existence. The New Zealand lead grew and anything around 220-250 would be a
tough chase on this track.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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